The Mystery of the Strange Mark
by spy5
Summary: The five are together again for the holidays and plunge into yet another thrilling mystery.Please don't criticize too much in the reviews, it's my first story!
1. Fatty Arrives and Something Happens

"Hurry up,Pip! If you don't, we shan't make it to the station before Fatty's train" shouted Bets. Pip and Bets hurried down the stairs, ran down towards Fatty's to pick up Buster and hurried off to the train station. They saw Daisy and Larry waiting at the station. " I wonder if Fatty will come in disguise" said Daisy.

"Maybe he won't, he has never disguised himself on the train before. I don't think he will be in disguise" Pip replied. But, he was wrong; Fatty, this time, was planning to put on a disguise.The train pulled into the station noisily and Buster had taken his usual place under a seat as he simply hated the noise. People started getting off the train and the four were excitedly looking out for their good old friend.

A tall, rather plump man with a huge trunk walked towards Bets. " Please miss," he said in a gruff voice " may I know the time?" " It is half past eight" replied Bets politely whose mother always insisted on good manners. " Thank you" he said and walked away into the dark, snowing night. Buster silently went behind the man as he had smelt his beloved master!

The man, Fatty, was debating with himself whether or not to go and have a snoop around Mr. Goon's house. He decided that he would, when a very excited Buster came jumping down the road. Fatty picked him up and got licked all over the face. Buster greeted him with a volley of happy, lively barks. He walked with Buster to Mr. Goon's and tied him to a tree outside. Fatty walked up the path. He decided to have a peep into Goon's study first.

He was surprised to see the window open on such a cold winters day. He saw a fire dying down in the grate and the room was dimly lit. Just then, the telephone rang. Goon walked in and picked it up. Fatty could hear what Goon was talking. His voice sounded important and official. " Brown Hill Mansion?, I'll be there in no time. Please don't even touch anything." Fatty heard the click of the phone and Mr. Goon's heavy, hurried footsteps.

Before Fatty could hide somwhere, Goon had come out and spotted him. " What are you doing here?" he demanded. "Je ne comprends pas" Fatty said in a rather gruff voice. " I asked you what you were doing in my garden?" said Goon threateningly. "Je ne comprends pas" replied Fatty innocently. "I can't waste my time on you, just clear-orf" he said, jumped on his bicycle and sailed away. "I have some work to set my brains on" Fatty thought.


	2. A Queer Find

He immediately went home, called up Pip and Larry and informed them to gather at Pip's the next morning. The next morning, Fatty cycled up to Pip's house. Bets peeped out of the playroom window. "Fatty! Come up. Everyone is here!" she said. Fatty parked his bicycle and went up to the playroom. "Fatty" shouted Bets and ran towards him. He lifted her and swung her in the air.  
"I may not be able to do that for much longer, little Bets, you're getting heavy" he said as he sat down and massaged his back. " Where were you yesterday? You never came! Did you miss the train and catch the next one?" Daisy asked. "Of course, I came"

"You mean... you came in disguise?Were you the man who asked me for the time?" Bets asked. "Ah! Clever Bets. You should have thought of that yesterday. Didn't even notice Buster coming after me." Fatty said. Buster barked at the sound of his name who had not made a single noise since their arrival.

"What's up? You look excited. Have you got a mystery in hand?" asked Larry."I think so. Has anyone seen the newspaper?Bets,please fetch it.Then, maybe we will have to go somewhere" he said. Bets left the room looking excited. She returned in a minute with the newspaper in her hand and a wide grin on her face. She lay it down for all to see. Fatty looked through the pages, on one page was an article titled 'ROBBERY AT BROWN HILL MANSION'. All their faces brightened up.

"So we' ve got a mystery to solve in these holidays too! Hurray!"shouted Larry. "Hey, wait. I know that place. Our great aunt Matilda lives there" Pip exclaimed ."Great!" shouted Fatty."You go there with Bets after lunch and get into conversation while we sneak around and look for footprints. She might even tell you something that she might not have told the police.When you're done, come to Olivers, we'll wait there. So long" he said and he left. Later that day, the five met at Fatty's and cycled off to Brown Hill Mansion.

"Do your best, Pip" Fatty said when they had reached the entrance. Pip gave him a reassurring smile and went in. Bets followed him. The others went into the garden and near the kitchen entrance, they found faint footprints about size 8 or 9 with rubber soles. It had no patterns, it was plain. "It's quite rare, isn't it? No patterns." Fatty said as he made a copy of it. "What's that?!" Daisy exclaimed, pointing at the ground right below the window sill, not far from the footprints. There was a faint mark of something circular with a thick line from one side. "I don't know but we'll copy that too." He copied it and they left for Olivers. Pip and Bets arrived soon after the others. "What did she tell you?Tell us, quick" said Daisy.

"She was in a miserable state when we saw her. She said that she had been out for an hour or so and returned by 9 in the night. Everything was perfectly normal until she went up to her bedroom. All the chests and drawers had been pulled out and turned upside down. She discovered that her jewels were missing and she called the police. Clear-orf turned up. He couldn't find anything, footprints or things like that as it had been snowing. The lock on the front door had not been forced , no windows had been broken and they had all been latched fron the inside like how it had beeen before the robbery." Pip finished narrating.

"Good work, Pip" Larry said. "Did you find out anything?" Bets asked. Fatty told them about everything and when he came to the part where they had found the curious mark, Bets gasped. "What could it be?" "Wish I knew that, Bets, then we might have probably solved the case by now. Okay, hot cocoa anyone?" Fatty asked. They all agreed. When they had finished, Fatty paid as usual. "Down at my shed after breakfast, tomorrow" he said and they parted.


	3. The Five Learn Quite a Lot

The next day, Pip and Bets arrived early at Fatty's. They found Fatty in his shed with Buster beside him. Buster ran outside to greet them. Larry and Daisy arrived soon afterwards. "What do you think about it, Fatty?" Daisy asked.

"Well... the thief has not entered or exited through the windows and the footprints and marks we found, have been made later as it had been snowing that night.The question is,how did he come in?Could he be having spare keys?"

"Oh,Fatty! Sorry,I'm so sorry! We completely forgot to tell you." Bets said.

"Tell me what,Bets?" Fatty asked.

"Tell you that aunt Matilda's maid has the key to the kitchen door." she said.

"Great! That's something. We better check out her alibi, but how?" Fatty said. "Our cook has a friend working in Brown Hill Mansion. I think her name is Alice" Daisy said.

"Yes, that is her name" Pip said."Larry,will your Cook be there now?" Fatty asked. "Yes" Larry replied.

"There is no time better than the present,then. We're off to Larry's, find-outers." Fatty said.

The five came out of the shed, Buster trotting behind Fatty's heels. They all jumped onto their bicycles. With Buster in Fatty's basket, they sailed off to Larry's. When they reached Larry's house, they put down their bicycles by the fence and entered through the kitchen door.

The cook was surprised to suddenly find five excited children and an over excited dog at her kitchen door. "So good to see you all! Started solving mysteries again?" she asked, beckoned them to sit near the fire and started making cocoa for them. "Well,yes. We have a got a mystery to solve. The robbery at Brown Hill Mansion. Do you know anything about it?" asked Fatty.

"I didn't know about the robbery, but i know a girl who works there. Alice, her name is." All their eyes brightened up and they sat still. Even Buster stopped wagging his tail and pricked up his ears. " A very good-natured girl, she is" the cook continued. "But she has not been here for the past four days. She has gone to Sheepridge to see her mother." She gave them all cocoa and Buster a few bicuits. "Thanks a lot! We beter leave now. Bye" said Fatty. "Oh, anything for the five find-outers and dog." she said with a grin. The five went back to Fatty's shed. "So, maybe Alice didn't do it herself, but she could have got someone else to do it for her" Fatty said. "But going by what Cook says, she seems too nice to do such a thing" Larry added.

"Maybe some one who has a grudge against Alice might have done the robbery, just out of pure spite" Bets put in.

"Bets! That is very much possible. We better check that out. I leave that to you, Larry. You can ask your cook. You can just ask her straight away because she knows that we are on the case and she was willing to help us. So, your job is easy" Fatty said.

"Bets, we better leave now, or else we'll be late for lunch" said Pip who had not said anything for a long time.

"Oh, should we? I really hate it when it is time for us to leave" said Bets.

"Actually, you needn't. You all can have lunch here. I'll tell both your mothers that you'll stay here for lunch. Mummy's out, so we can discuss about the mystery even during lunch." Fatty said. "Oh, really! Thanks, Fatty" Bets said. Fatty locked his shed and they went inside the house. They ate their lunch in silence and the only noise was made by an occasional breeze or Buster's sniffs.

"I'll go right away and find out from cook about Alice" said Larry after they had finished their lunch.

"You come up to my bedroom when you're back. We'll be playing a game of cards or something there." Larry left.

The others went up to Fatty's bedroom. They settled near the fire and started the game. The game was going on with excitement and Larry arrived soon. They put down their cards.

"Larry, did she tell you anything?" Daisy asked him.

"Well, she said that there is man called Edward Williams, to whom Alice owes some money. Isn't it quite possible that he did the robbery?" Larry asked.

"It very well could be him but we have to prove it," Fatty said "Where does he live, Larry?"

"He lives in Taplow. He owns a garage in Taplow" Larry told him.  
"I think I'll have to go there late in the evening in a disguise. My parents will be going out tonight , so, it'll be easy for me to try out a disguise and slip out without being seen" Fatty said. The other four left.


	4. Time for a Disguise

After a hurried dinner without a mother to ask him why he was gobbling up his food, Fatty went to his shed. He pulled on a pair of cordrouy trousers and a tweed coat. He put on a terrible looking false teeth that protruded from his mouth and painted some freckles on his cheeks. He put on his commonly used red wig and set out on his bicycle to Taplow. As he neared the garage, he let the air out of his front tyre and wheeled his bicycle to the garage. He was glad to see that it was still open. A boy who might have been slightly older than Fatty stood at the entrance. He had spots on his pale face and jet black hair.

"Puncture" Fatty said. The boy started mending Fatty's tyre.

"So, heard about this robbery in Peterswood ?" Fatty asked.

"Oh yes, yes I do" he replied. Fatty judged by the poor English that the boy was speaking that he might not have gone to school.

"Days are become bad now, bad days" he murmured as he carried on with his work.

"This garage belongs to...Edward Williams, eh?" Fatty asked.

"Yes, yes. And he is a cruel, rude man. Very cruel. He do anything, he will. Rather say he done the robbery."

Fatty's eyes glittered at hearing these words. "Could I get a job here?" Fatty asked him.

"Maybe, ask Williams" the boy replied. "Is he in now?"

"Oh yeah, yeah he is. He live in the next house. " He finished mending Fatty's tyre. As Fatty was about to leave, a rather stocky man with untidy, straw-coloured hair came out of the garage. He scowled at the boy and left.

"Is that Mr.Williams?" Fatty asked the boy after the man had left. The boy nodded his head.

"So long" Fatty said as he mounted his bicycle. He noticed some footprints on the pavement which hadn't been there when he had come. It had obviously been made by Mr.Williams as only he had walked there after Fatty's arrival. It was exactly like the ones near the door of Brown Hill Mansion. Fatty saw that the boy had gone inside the garage, so he pulled out the copy of the footprints and compared it with the ones on the pavement. They were exactly alike!!!!!!!!!

Now, he had to find out how many people wore boots without patterns. He cycled home and thankfully saw that his parents had not returned yet. He pulled off his disguise and went up to bed.

The next morning, he informed Pip and Larry to come to his shed soon.

When all had arrived at the shed, Fatty said, "I found out from a boy in the garage that Mr.Williams is too cruel and rude and his capable of doing anything ; he might have even done the robbery" Fatty paused. "and guess what? Yesterday I saw the footprints we found in Brown Hill Mansion. They were made by Williams." Daisy gave an exclamation.

"Now, we're going to the cobbler in Taplow. Everyone got your bicycles? Okay, then. We're ready, find-outers" Buster barked. "and dog " Fatty added with a grin. The five children and Buster sped off to Taplow on their bicycles.


	5. A Great Discovery

They didn't have much difficulty in finding the cobbler's. It was quite close to the garage.

"Bets and I will go to the cobbler. Daisy, take Buster. You three go with Buster to that cafe down the road. Wait there and we'll join you in some time" Fatty said

Fatty and Bets pushed the door open, a bell jingled overhead, and the two of them went in. They sat down. A rather bald, bearded man shuffled into the room.

"What can I get you?" he asked in a shaky voice.

"Boots, snow boots," Fatty replied.

"Size?" he asked.

"Oh, seven". The man started looking in various racks. After a minute's search, he brought a pair of brown boots. Fatty looked at it and found that it had no patterns!

"Rare, these are, they don't have patterns." Fatty said.

"Oh yes, it is. It sells only in this shop. Only that garage owner buys it, though. No one else does" the cobbler said.

Fatty and Bets tried their best to hide their excitement. Fatty bought the boots and they went to the cafe.

"This means, he is the thief" Bets told Fatty on their way. They entered the cafe. It was small and well kept. It had light purple coloured walls and curtains. It had small round tables. It was nearly empty and only two tables were occupied. One by Larry, Pip and Daisy and the other by two men at the opposite corner.

"Found anything?" Larry asked.

"He said that boots without patterns sell only in his shop and the only one who buys it is our dear friend, Edward Williams" Fatty said.

"This confirms that he is the thief!" Daisy said.

"But Fatty , one thing is, how did he get the key?" Bets said.

"Oh, he must have stolen that too" Fatty said. "Cook said Alice is returning today" Larry added.

"But, one more thing is, the footprints were made after the robbery, it had been snowing that night" Bets said.

"We nearly forgot that!" Fatty said.

"So, Mr.Williams has come later, as now we know that those footprints are his" Larry said

"But then, who did the robbery, why did Mr.Williams come later and what was that mark?" asked Daisy.

"Could Mr.Williams have done the robbery and come back again?" Larry asked.

"We have no proof" Fatty said when the waitress brought sandwiches. They started munching away in silence but their minds were working rapidly. When they had finished, Fatty got a hand full of change from his pocket as usual.

"No, Fatty ; you always pay. Let me, this time." Pip said and pushed Fatty's hand aside.

"Okay, " Fatty said and put the money back in his pocket. Pip drew some money from his pocket and paid the bill.

As they came out towards their bicycles Bets asked, " Where are we going now, Fatty?"

"To my shed. We can discuss anything we want without any disturbance" Fatty replied.

They cycled to Fatty's shed. When they had all settled comfortably in Fatty's cozy shed, Fatty took out his notebook and opened the page titled, 'SUSPECTS'. He wrote down Alice's and Mr.Williams' names.

"Why have you written Alice's name? Do you suspect her?" asked Bets who had been peering over his shoulder.

"I'm afraid, I do. It is very likely that she did not do it but there is a possibility. She might have been here all the time and never gone to Sheepridge. She could've just walked into the house when it was empty, taken what she wanted, locked the kitchen door and left. She'd say she was in Sheepridge but its a very poor alibi" Fatty said.

"Fatty, we haven't yet checked out Williams' alibi" Larry added.

"That's a point, but how can we?"


	6. Another Disguise and another Discovery

His question remained unanswered for a long time. No one knew how they were to check Mr.Willliams' alibi. Even Fatty, who seemed to have the answers to everything, was at a loss. Everyone was completely silent. Even Buster did not sniff or bark. His doggy mind knew that the environment was serious. The silence was suddenly broken by Fatty's sharp voice.

"I'll go tonight! In disguise! Larry, you can come too. You are tall enough for an adult disguise"

"Thanks, Fatty. I'll be glad to come with you and wear a disguise, but ... where are we going and what are we doing tonight?" Larry asked.

"Just come to my shed at nine o' clock tonight. Then, I'll tell you what we are to do."

"It would be very thrilling to roam outside late at night" Bets sighed

"THIS IS SERIOUS BUSSINESS, BETS,not just roam -" Fatty started but was interrupted by Pip.

"We better leave now,Bets, is getting late" he said as he stood up and made his way to the door and Bets followed him.

"I bet we'll have to leave too" Larry said and got up."See you tonight, Fatty". The four left.

Later that day, Fatty wished his parents good night and went up to bed soon after dinner surprising his parents very much as Fatty usually stayed up late.

Fatty lay in bed waiting for the clock to strike nine. He felt excitement creeping over him. His mind was swimming in various thoughts about the mystery, the curious mark,the footprints in Brown Hill Mansion, the footprints on the pavement in Taplow. The mechanic boy's and cobbler's voice echoed in his ears. He heard the clock chiming. He leapt out of his bed and headed towards the door. He pulled on his dressing gown and Buster started whining softly.

"Sorry, Buster. Can't take you with me." he whispered.

He left the room and made his way to his shed. He saw Larry entering through the garden gate as he neared the shed. The two boys went into the shed. Fatty started opening his neatly kept draws at random and pulled out a pair of red eyebrows, his famous red wig and a red moustache. He threw them over to Larry and said, "Put them on, quick" still looking through his draws. Larry put them on and looked into the long mirror that hung on Fatty's wall.

"Don't mess with me" he said in a gruff voice. By then, Fatty had put on a curly black wig ang painted some freckles on his face. Then he put a cap on top of his wig and drew a thin black moustache above his upper lip. When both of them were fully disguised, Larry asked, "Now can you tell me what we are doing?"

"I thought you must've gussed by now! We are going to interview some nightwatchmen in Taplow, near the garage, to see if Williams had slipped out on the night of the robbery after 8:30, when the robbery must've been done. It was reported at

9 o'clock" Fatty said. They crept out of the shed noiselessly and Fatty locked it. They cycled off to Taplow through the bare roads and deserted streets. The boys' cheeks became pink as the cold breeze of the winter night blew past. When they reached Taplow, they stopped cycling as they were hot with layers of thick clothes and a long ride. They started to wheel their bicycles towards the towards the garage. They were glad to see that mostly all houses had night watchmen in that street. They walked to a house quite close to Mr.Williams'.

"Mind if we got some warmth in our fingers?" Fatty asked the watchman in a cheery voice.

"Not at all" he replied, streching both his arms towards the fire as if he were going to hug it.

"Thank you" Larry said and knelt down beside the fire.

"What are you people doing here at this time? Never seen you here before" the watchman said.

"Just came here on some work" Fatty replied. "Do many people roam about here late at night?"

"Not many, hardly any. Only that garage guy goes somewhere every night. I see him going just when I arrive. He's been doing this for about a week, running off to some head-going job. Never used to go like this before. Then, he returns late at night."

The conversation had gone exactly how they had wanted it to. They had got everything they needed. They caught each other's eyes and grinned at each other.

"The only other people are the other watchmen and rarely, some people like you" he said.

"Thank you" Fatty said as he got up. Larry got up too and brushed the knees of his trousers. They got onto their bicycles and rode away into the cold night.

"This proves that he's been outside on the night of the robbery" Larry told Fatty who had seen his watch and let out a low whistle. "I expected it to take much longer, it is hardly ten".

The journey continued in complete silence. When they reached Fatty's, both stripped off their disguises and Larry left after arranging to meet at his house the next morning. Fatty went up to bed and fell asleep in almost what seemed to be an instant. Larry went home and narrated what they did to a very excited Daisy. All five were asleep but their only thoughts were about the mystery. The next morning, all arrived much earlier than they were to, at Larry's house.

"Now, there is every possibility that Mr.Williams robbed the place, came back later and left that curious mark. Maybe, if we know what that strange mark is, we may know why Mr.Williams came there and probably confirm that he did the robbery" Fatty said.

"Cook said that Alice came back yesterday and discovered that the key was missing" Daisy said.


	7. A Successful Ending

"THAT'S IT! THAT'S IT!" Fatty cried suddenly, making the others jump violently. "I'VE GOT IT!"

"You solved the mystery?" Daisy asked in a small voice who was the first to recover from this sudden shock.

"I think so. Just need to confirm. We'll have to go to Brown Hill Mansion and see Alice. I need to ask her something" Fatty said.

"What is it? Can you tell us now?!" Pip asked excitedly.

"Of course not, we've got no time. Either solve it yourself or wait till I confirm" Fatty said.

He hurried out of the room and was at the edge of the landing when he realised that the others were not with him. He stopped.

"Aren't you'll coming?" Fatty shouted across the landing. The others hurried and joined Fatty half way down the stair case.

They were soon outside on their bicycles when Mr.Goon came on his cycle towards them.

"Solved the mystery, Mr.Goon?" Fatty asked mockingly and they all rang their bells loudly,producing a loud, shrill noise as a result. Mr.Goon nearly fell off his bicycle and became purple with anger.

"Unusual mystery, this one. No interruption by Mr.Goon" Pip said as they turned a corner. "Solved it, Pip?" Fatty asked .

"Nearly. Now all I need is the confirmation" Pip said modestly.

"Great! Now two of us know the solution" Fatty said.

They soon reached Brown Hill Mansion. They entered straight away through the kitchen door as they found it open. Alice was there, thankfully.

"Hello, Alice. You might not know us-" Fatty started but Alice but in.

"Nonsense! Of course I know you'll. You'll are those mystery-solving kids, right? And you're called the five find-outers and dog, right?"

"We're famous, Daisy" Bets whispered in her ear.

"Right" Fatty told Alice. "We just wanted to know-"

"whether you found the key to the kitchen door anywhere in the kitchen?" Pip finished. He caught Fatty's eye and they grinned at each other.

"Yes,yes I did, over there" she said pointing to a place near the sink, beneath the window sill.

"That's it!" cried Pip and Fatty in chorus.

"Is Ms.Hilton there now?" Fatty asked her.

"Yes,she is. But how did you know that I lost -"she started but the duo had run out of the kitchen, through the dining room into the hall.

Ms.Hilton was sitting by the fire, her back facing them with a mug of some steaming liquid on her lap.

"Hello,Ms.Hilton" Fatty said and made her jump that she almost toppled the beverage on her lap. She turned to face them. She looked quite old and had a kind face. For a moment, Fatty thought he was looking into the face of an old Bets as Bets resembled her great aunt very much.

"Sorry to but in like this" Fatty said humbly.

"Oh, it's you Philip and..."

"This is my friend, Frederick Trotteville" Pip said. "We have discovered who stole your things. Can we please use the telephone for a minute?" he asked, his eyes raking the room for a telephone.

"What?! Ohh... Sure, you may use the telephone" she said pointing to a small round table in the corner of the room. It was draped with a lacy, light blue coloured cloth and on top of it stood a telephone that was the same pale blue as the curtains.

"Thank you" Fatty said and ran to the telephone. Pip followed him when the others entered the room with Buster.

"Hello. It is Frederick Trotteville here" Fatty was saying in the telephone, "I need to speak to Superintendent, please" Fatty paused.

"Hello, sir. It's me, Frederick" he said, trying his best to keep his voice calm. Pip was standing just behind him , breathing on his neck and trying to hear what the Superintendent was saying. "Sir, you must've heard about this theft in Peterswood? In Brown Hill Mansion?"

"Solved that too, I expect?!" said the cheerful voice of Inspector Jenks from the other end.

"Yes,sir. Could you please come over to Brown Hill Mansion, now?"

"Yes, Frederick. I'll be there by half past ten."

"Thank you, sir" Fatty said and placed the receiver delicately back in its place.

"He'll be here in half an hour" Fatty announced.

Bets, Larry and Daisy were utterly puzzled. They didn't have a clue about what was going on. They all waited silently in the hall and half an hour went very quickly. They heard the sound of a car coming up the drive. Pip looked out of the window and saw the Superintendent getting out of his magnificent black car. There was a sharp rap on the front door. Pip, being the swiftest of the lot, sped to the door to open it. He returned with Inspector Jenks by his side. The Superintendent wore his usual broad grin on his handsome face. Pip and the burly policeman came and sat down on either side of Fatty.

"Tell me, Frederick, who did the robbery?"

"Sir, this time, it is ot only me who solved but also Pip... So I think he should tell you" Fatty said modestly. Pip caught his eye and mouthed the word 'thanks'. The Superintendent turned towards Pip.

"So,Philip, you're called Pip, is it?" he asked.

"Erm..." said Pip who had quite not expected this question, "Yes" he said after a few seconds.

"So now, tell me who did it, why and how they did it" the Superintendent said calmly.

"Sir, it is Edward Williams, a garage owner in Taplow" Pip started. He narrated everything about Mr.Williams, the footprints they had found outside the kitchen door, the ones made by Williams outside the garage. He told him about the strange mark and showed him the copy of the mark and the footprints.

"Now, why do you say that he is the thief?" Superintendent Jenks asked.

"Oh, that's easy. He stole the keys from Alice when she had gone to Sheepridge, came and took what he wanted,locked the door so that nothing seemed suspicious and he left. Later that night, he came back and put the key in through the kitchen window, so that only Alice would be suspected. He must've dropped it down by accident and that is what made the mark."

"It does resemble that of a key" Jenks said, looking at the copy of the mark.

"If the evil rouge had been cleverer, he should have put the key back in Alice's place or from wherever he stole it. He put it back here and that gave him away" Pip said, grinning all over his face.

"Good work, find-outers. Solved yet another mystery, if I may say so" Inspector Jenks said, standing up. "Now, please come with me and show me the way to this gentleman's garage"

Ms.Hilton, Daisy, Bets and Larry had not uttered a single word since the Superintendent's arrival.

"Thank you very much, children. Very intelligent" Ms.Hilton said.

The five children and Buster sped away with the Inspector in his magnificent car to Mr.Williams' garage in Taplow. They reached the garage much faster than they would have by bicycle. Mr.Williams was arrested, Ms.Hilton's things were returned. Alice was not suspected anymore. She payed Mr.Williams what she owed him. All was well.

So reader, let us wish the great five find-outers and dog many more happy and succesful mysteries.


End file.
